The top surfaces, burners, and grates of gas fired or electric ranges 10 and cooktops 12 can be difficult to clean and may require removal of parts to adequately access areas that need to be cleaned. It is known to use pyrolysis to clean the interior of an oven. Ovens may be easily sealed by closing and locking the door to the oven. Heretofore, it has not been known to provide self-cleaning burners since their outer surface it typically uncovered.
Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, which depict schematics of prior art burners, there are several known types of burners, including gas burners 14, open coil electric burners 16, and closed electric burners 18. Stove tops 20 will typically have four or more burners. Stove tops 20 having gas burners 16 will typically have an upper stove surface 20 having an opening 22 into which a gas burner 16 is seated. A grate 24 is positioned over the gas burner 14 and serves as a rack for seating a cooking utensil thereon, such as a pot. The gas burner 14 includes a burner 14 that is coupled to a valve. A gas supply line 26 feeds the valve and the valve is turned on and off by a knob 28. A cap 30 is typically positioned over the burner 14 to help disburse the flame from the burner 14. The burner 14 sits in a cavity 32 under the stove top surface 20. A drip pan 34 may be positioned directly beneath the burner 14 within the cavity 32. A ventilation opening 36 is typically associated with the cavity 32 in order to feed air to the burner 14 to promote efficient burning of fuel. A ventilation opening 38 may also be used to exhaust heated air from the cavity 32. The same opening may be used for both inlet and outlet of air, if desired. An example of a gas burner 14 is depicted in FIG. 12.
Ranges 10 or cooktops 12 having open coil electric burners 16 will typically include an upper stove surface 20 having an opening 22 into which an electric coil burner 16 seats. The electric coil burner 16 has an electrical connection (not shown) for connecting with an electrical connector that is positioned below the upper stove surface 20. A cavity 32 is defined below the upper stove surface 20 and may include a ventilation opening 40 that allows the entry of fresh air or the exhaust of heated air. A drip pan 34 may be positioned under the electric burner 16 and positioned in the cavity 32. An example of an open coil electric burner 16 is depicted in FIG. 13.
Ranges 10 or cooktops 12 having a closed electric burner 18 are similar to open coil electric burners 16, but have the electric burner 18 positioned under s sheet of heavy glass 42. The electric burner 18 transfers heat to the glass 42, upon which a pot seats for cooking. The glass top 42 serves as the upper stove surface 20 and a cavity 32 is defined under the glass surface 42. The electric burner heating elements 18 are positioned under the glass surface 42 and connected to an electric supply and a control knob 28 that allows the burner 18 to be turned on and off, as well as regulating the flow of electricity to the burner 18 when on. A ventilation opening 40 may be provided in the cavity in order to cool the heating elements with fresh air or to exhaust heated air from the cavity 32.